CHARLOTTE, N.C. -Dana Gray and Maria Storozheva's 8-2 victory over Lisa Grosselius and Natsuko Takayanagi in a No. 1 doubles match earned the Pirates the opening point that eventually proved to be the difference as East Carolina edged Charlotte 4-3 in Conference USA women's tennis action Saturday afternoon at the Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex.

The win in the regular season finale improved ECU's spring dual match record to 12-10 and guaranteed the Pirates of a winning overall campaign heading into next week's league tournament. The loss snapped the 49ers' two-match win streak and dropped to their ledger to 7-12.

East Carolina's senior-freshman tandem of Melis Tanik and Emily Groeneveld opened doubles play with an 8-1 triumph over Tyler Baker and Jessica Perez at the No. 3 slot to set up Gray and Storozheva's point clincher.

The two teams split six singles matches as Charlotte took three matches at the top of the lineup and ECU countered with wins at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6.

After Nicole LaDuca pushed the Pirates' lead to 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Baker at the No. 5 position, the 49ers trimmed the deficit to one with Grosselius' 6-2, 6-2 decision over Michelle Castro at No. 2. ECU quickly regained control of the match however as Gray and Groeneveld booked 7-5, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-3 triumphs over Perez and Takayanagi at No. 6 and No. 4, respectively, to secure the team victory.

East Carolina (12-10) will now prepare for the Conference USA Championship Tournament, which begins Wednesday, April 16 at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center on the Old Dominion University campus in Norfolk, Va.